2D
by Earthling
Summary: When Cassi looses her mental powers, it's up to Daniel and Janet to find a cure. Quick!*Completed!*
1. Default Chapter

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
AN: I strongly suggest you read the Alternate Daughter before procceding. Remember, no " marks mean telepathic conversation.  
  
Cassi glanced back with a grin. Her father had just imerged from the Gate to find there was no platform and no stairs to the ground. She held him in the air for a moment, his feet kicking at nothing.   
  
"Didn't there used to be a platform here?" he asked calmly. Cassi laughed and lowered him to the ground.  
  
"Daniel? Carter? Teal'c!" he called, ignoring the grin on her face.   
  
"This way Colonel!" Cassi's mother shouted.  
  
"There's a city type thing over there" Cassi told him and they started walking through the underbrushy forest.  
  
"Anyway" Cassi continued the conversation they'd been having before they left SGC, "I went to Uncle Danny's to look it up and I found.."  
  
"Wait," her father interrupted, "Weren't you supposed to go out with Cassie last night?"  
  
"Um.. yeah" the 16 year old answered, pushing a branch out of her way, "But I called and told her I had to finish the mission report"  
  
"But you didn't have to finish it last night" Jack stated.  
  
"No, I didn't *have* to but..."  
  
"Cass, you've got to go out sometime! For heaven's sake, you can't have found anything else you haven't read at Daniel's! You're calling her when we get home. I think Carter said something about her having a party on friday"  
  
"But!"  
  
"No buts. You stay home too much" Jack could hear her grumbling in his head but didn't say anything else about it. They reached the town just as dusk set in. It appeared to be empty.  
  
"There's no on else here, Colonel" Carter told him when they arrived.  
  
"This place may be unknown to the Goa'uld" Teal'c annonced.  
  
"How do you figure that?" Jack asked.   
  
"There are no signs of their inhabitance. Besides, Daniel Jackson has found writings in one of the buidlings" Teal'c led them to a building on the outskirts of town. Daniel was translating something written across the walls.   
  
"Daniel?" O'Neill interrupted, "Whadjya find?"  
  
"Jack, this is amazing! It tells the story of a war between five races. Four of them united against the fifth and trapped them on a single planet I think they're talking about the Goa'uld!" Jack raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Daniel, could those four races be those races that originally built the Star Gate system? Or that building we found Earnest in?" Sam asked.  
  
"Sure, I think so!"  
  
"Alright, record all of this. We'll take it back with us. Cassi, you help him. Carter, Teal'c, let's see what else is here" So Cassi and Daniel set to getting al of the markings recorded. After a couple of hours, though, Cassi got bored.  
  
"I can finish this up" Daniel told her.  
  
You sure? Cassi asked hopefully.  
  
"Yeah, you go on. See if you can find any more walls like this." So Cassi took off happily, going from building to building to building. The rest of SG-1 returned to Daniel's building.  
  
"Where's Cass?" Jack asked. Daniel looked up as he completed his work.   
  
"Oh, she went to look for another wall" he answered. Just then, a shriek ripped the night air. The four went tearing out of the building, racing down the avenue to a building with light spilling out of the windows. They all crammed through the door, weapons ready. Cassi was running around the room, her hands on her head, literally bouncing off the walls. SHe was still shrieking wildly.   
  
"Cass!" her father tried to shout over her.  
  
"Cassi, what's wrong?" Sam yelled. The girl suddenly stopped and stared at them. A look of purest terror froze on her face and she fell to the floor, shrieking even louder.  
  
"Let's get her home!" Jack shouted. He leaned down and picked her up. He suddenly realized he couldn't feel her terror in his head, though she did not seem to be in control of herself. They made it back to the Gate and Daniel dialed home. Cassi was still shrieking when they jumped into the wormhole. 


	2. A Green Frontal Cortex

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
Cassi stopped screaming when the burst through on the other side. She simply shivered in her father's arms. Dr. Fraiser was there already and she came up the ramp to meet Jack. Cassi's eyes slid to look at her, but it seemed as if she wasn't seeing anything.  
  
"She's in major shock" Janet announced. She led the way to the infirmary.  
  
"What happened?" she asked.  
  
"We don't know" Sam answered, "She was in another building and we heard her just...shrieking."  
  
"When we found her she was holding her head and running around the room" Teal'c added. No one could really tell, but he was very worried about the girl. She reminded him of Rya'c.  
  
"Yes, she was running into the walls, almost as if she couldn't see them" Daniel said.  
  
"Well there's nothing wrong with her physically," Janet announced, "Let's run an MRI" Jack silently picked up his daughter again and carried her to the MRI bed. Her eyes stared up, unseeing and the only sound she made was to occasionally whimper.  
  
"It's going to be alright, Cass" he told her as he layed her down and he hoped he wasn't lying. She opened her mouth and a strange sound came out, as if she'd forgotten how to speak. A tear came to Jack's eye, but he wouldn't let it fall. The bed rolled into the darkness.  
  
"That's odd" Janet proclaimed when she'd completed the procedure. Jack was gathering Cassi back up.  
  
"What?" Sam asked as they all clustered around the screen. Janet pointed to the frontal cortex.  
  
"This is the part of the brain Cassi uses for her cognitive powers. Usually there's a lot of activity there so it's red" she explained.  
  
"It is green now" Teal'c observed.  
  
"That's right" Janet confirmed, "That means there is little or no activity in that part of the brain."  
  
"What does that mean?" Sam asked. Jack joined them behind the table. Cassi was getting heavy in his arms but he refused to put her down.  
  
"Anyone notice the lack of her fear in our heads?" he asked.  
  
"Are you suggesting she's lost her telepathic powers?" Daniel asked.  
  
"That may not be all" Janet suggested, "All of her psychic abilities are housed there"   
  
"Even if she's just lost her psychic powers, she should be able to talk" Sam objected.   
  
"I don't know" Janet shook her head, "I have to do some more research. Meanwhile, I want to keep her here so I can keep an eye on her" Jack made sure she was settled in, but then didn't leave. Eventually both Teal'c and Daniel took breaks from the vigil to eat and sleep. When they came back niether of the girl's parents had moved.  
  
"Sam, Jack, you guys should get some sleep" Daniel suggested gently.   
  
"We have to be here when she wakes up" Sam replied.  
  
"It has been many hours," Teal'c said, "Yet Dr. Fraiser says she will not wake soon. You can not help her if you allow your bodies to weaken." Still neither one moved.   
  
"Sam...."Daniel prodded. Carter nodded and stood, though she was unable to pull her eyes away from her ailling daughter.  
  
"I will stay" Teal'c added. The mother finnaly started for the door.  
  
"Colonel?"   
  
"I'm not leaving her" O'Neill said quietly.  
  
"Jack..."  
  
"I'm not leaving her!" he shouted this time, "I'm not leaving" he repeated in a whisper. Sam simply shook her head and left. 


	3. Prognosis

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
Janet walked in holding a clipboard. Both parents looked up anxiously. Teal'c, Daniel and Hammond followed the Doctor in. Sam and Jack stood next to each other feeling as if they were facing a firing squad.   
  
"It's not good" Janet told them, "I don't think she'll recover" Sam gasped for breath and started weeping. Jack folded her into his arms, tears threatning even him, though he was obviously trying to stop them.  
  
"Won't she even regain her ability to speak?" Daniel cried. Janet sighed.  
  
"I don't think she can" she answered, "I went through some of her previous MRI's and some conversations she had with me. In all of her previous MRI's, the areas of the brain that control speech and higher thought in normal people have only been a yellow color, which means they were only being used as a back up. I once asked her what she thought would happen if she ever lost her psychic abilities and her answer was that she would probably just have to work a little harder at things, or at the worst relearn how to speak, but I think every thing she does is linked directly to her frontal cortex, which isn't working. I don't think she can function without it." At this prognosis Sam started crying harder, even hiccuping between sobs. Jack had stopped his tears, but Daniel had started pacing.  
  
"Is there nothing you can do?" Teal'c asked.  
  
"Cassi produces some sort of hormone that is usually very high in her blood and her brain, but is almost undectable now. I might be able to synthicate it, but it could take months, even years. Especially if I don't know why she stopped producing it in the first place." Janet replied. Jack looked up.  
  
"We have to go back to that planet." 


	4. Awake

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
"Chevron seven encoded" a voice announced over the speaker. SG-1 stepped back as the wormhole formed itself.   
  
"Good luck, Colonel" Hammond wished them from the control room. Jack tipped his hat up at the General as SG-1 moved up the ramp.  
  
"Wait!" a shout rang through the cooridor. Teal'c pulled his hand out of the wormhole.  
  
"Wait, Colonel O'Neill!" a soldier erupted into the Gate room heaving hard, "Cassi, sir! She's awake!" SG-1 shoved their weapons into waiting hands as they pounded down the cooridors. Jack rushed to Cassi's side, still trying to catch his breath. She opened her eyes and looked at him and he saw the spark of recognition in her eyes. He grabbed her hand and kissed it, then kissed her forehead. Sam had tears on her cheeks that fell into Cassi's hair as she leaned down and kissed her too.  
  
" Aaaad?" her voice was horse and labored and she was barely understandable.  
  
"Yes, Cassi baby, I'm here" he answered softly, running his hand over her head and through her hair.  
  
"Reeeaaal?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, we're real" Sam answered.  
  
"Caaaannnnn't feeeeel" Cassi said and started weeping, "Caaaaaannnnn't feeeel! Wwwwhhhyyyy?" It was clear that she was terrified and frustrated.  
  
"Something happened" Sam answered softly, "Your psychic powers are gone"  
  
"Caaaaaannnn't......taaaaalllk" Cassi mumbled through her tears, "Caaaannn't feeeeeeeel! Noooooo.....reeeaaal! Soo, sooo, soooo scaaaared!"  
  
"I know sweetie, I know" her mother replied, lifting her from the bed so she could rock her.   
  
"It's going to be alright" Jack told her, "We're going to fix you"   
  
"Jack," Daniel said from the foot of the bed, "Maybe she can tell us what happened."  
  
"Cassi," Jack started, "Tell us what happened. On the planet. Why did you start screaming?" Cassi was still crying but she was trying to think.  
  
"Plaaaate" she said finnaly.  
  
"Plate, what does 'plate' mean?" Teal'c asked. But when Jack asked again all she said was:  
  
"Plaaate. Nooo wooorld. Disssappeeaared"  
  
"Alright. Let's go back to that building. Maybe we'll find a clue that will tell us what 'plate' means" Daniel suggested.  
  
"Jack, I want to stay here" Sam told him. The Colonel nodded and left with Daniel and Teal'c. 


	5. Planet Doom

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
This time it seemed to be early morning on the planet, dew still clinging to the weeds that choked the ground around the Stargate. The three men headed straight for the city they had visited before.  
  
"Stop!" Teal'c said softly in the 7 foot high weeds that formed a perimeter around the city. Jack and Daniel turned and looked. Teal'c pointed to an indintation in the soft ground.   
  
"There are Jaffa here" Jack was instantly alert.   
  
"I thought you said the Goa'uld didn't know about this place" he hissed.  
  
"They have apparently learned of it's existance" Teal'c responded.  
  
"For cryin' out loud" Jack griped, "Keep your eyes open! We still have to get to that building" He led them slowly to the edge of the weed ring and crouched down. There were no Jaffa in the area, so they moved into the city. The building they were looking for was only about a hundred yards in, but they skulked around the edges of the building and stuck to the shadows as they made their way to it. They reached the road it was on and stopped. It was apparent that there had been Jaffa patroling the street recently, but there was no sign of them now.  
  
"Where are they?" Daniel whispered.  
  
"Maybe they left?" Jack suggested. Teal'c's expression showed his doubt. Jack nodded toward the building and they quickly crossed the street and hugged the wall. Their eyes darted everywhere but there was still no sign of the Jaffa. They reached the correct building without any problems. Jack stationed himself just inside the door while Daniel and Teal'c explored the room. Stone artifacts littered the room all engraved with hiroglyphics, undicernable to Jack.   
  
"Here!" Daniel's cry gained their attention. They both joined him in a corner of the room, where a table sat by itself. A large disc sat on the table, in a square. The disc itself was of a coppery metal, green around the edges. It too was engraved and Jack recognized symbols from other places in the room; a sun and moon and a curious set of waves. There were two solid straight lines hemming the waves in.  
  
"Great. What's it say?"  
  
"I have no idea" Daniel replied, "It was hidden in the table. A block moved away when I touched it"  
  
"A weapon of some sort?" Teal'c asked. They all heard voices outside, and the sound of Jaffa armor. They dropped to the ground and scuttled to the window. Two Jaffa were stopped outside the door, speaking. The team ducked back down and waited for them to leave, which they did after a few moments. As soon as they had gone Daniel and Teal'c lept up, obviously alarmed.  
  
"What?" Jack asked.  
  
"Uh...this entire planet is going to explode in about ten minutes" Daniel answered as he rushed back to the table, his cam corder out.   
  
"For cryin' out loud!" Jack muttered, "Grab that plate thing and let's get out of here!"  
  
"I can't touch the plate!" Daniel answered, "Grab anything that has these waves on it! We'll take it back. Maybe I can find something at home" As he spoke the three of them searched the room for artifacts which were inscribed with the curious set of waves that appeared on the disc. There weren't many. Daniel waved his hand over the empty surface of the table, just to check. Not to his surprise, three stone oblieskes, all inscribed with more strange symbols including the waves, rose from disguised chambers. He grabbed all three. Teal'c held two stone tablets resembling notebooks, and Jack had a coppery ball. An explosion, very distant, let them know they were out of time.  
  
"Hope you got what you need, Daniel" Jack griped as they tore out the door, "Cause our flight's taking off" No doubt Teal'c would have commented on the reference had they not been running pel mel for the Gate as the ancient city exploded into rubble behind them. The earth shook with what felt like massive underground explosions and nearly tripped Daniel. He kept his footing however and kept up with the two military trained men in front of him. They were nearly moved down by yellow beams of energy that instead ripped into the ground and weeds beside them. The ground rumbled again, louder and more violent this time as the explosives the Goa'uld had planted did their best to tear it into shreds.   
  
The two Jaffa were advancing from the Gate. Jack and Teal'c didn't bother speaking, they simply took aim and shot, leveling the two would-be guards.  
  
"Daniel!" Jack yelled without stopping his dead run to the Gate. Trees were falling and chasims were breaking open around them. A quick glance in any direction could tell you the planet was done for. Daniel diverted to the DHD and pounded the right coordinates in. He could barely keep from falling in the waves of earth as he made his way to the Gate. Great rifts and canyons were appearing like an artist gouging features into clay. Mountains were crumbling behind them as the team jumped into the only salvation to be had. 


	6. Your Eyes

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
The Colonel flinched slightly as the Doctor sewed up the cut he had gotten tumbling onto the ramp when they'd come through the wormhole. No one else had been injured. Sam strolled into the infirmary.   
  
"How ya doin, Jack?" she asked. Everybody had noticed that she rarely referred to him as "Colonel" ever since Cassi had died, about four months ago.  
  
"I've been worse" he replied, "How's Cass?"   
  
"Better" her mother replied hesitantly, "She can speak a little more. We moved her to her own room, added some color for her" The doctor tied up the end of his last stich and snipped the thread.  
  
"You can go now, sir" he told the Colonel. Jack followed Sam to his daughter's new room. They had put some Star Wars posters on her walls to cover the gray stone walls, and a colorful bed spread across the standard bed, where Cassi sat, trying to pay attention to a TV in the corner of the room.  
  
"She can't walk" Sam told him very quietly. The girl hadn't even noticed them yet, all of her concentration on the TV which was displaying large colorful letters.   
  
"E..E..F..F..........F......." Cassi was singing to herself, obviously stumped on what the next letter should be. Jack could tell she was frustrated.  
  
"I know! I know......somewhere......" she mumbled.  
  
"G" he said. She looked in his direction.  
  
"G! H, I, J, K!" she cried, and flapped an open hand against her head, "I know!"  
  
"Of course you do" Sam said soothingly. She took a seat next to her daughter. The girl looked perfectly normal. Her caramel hair was pulled into a pony tail and her deep blue eyes were clear as ever. Only her voice gave away that she wasn't her normal brilliant self.   
  
"I brought Daddy to see you" Jack stood at the foot of the bed. Cassi's face lit up.  
  
"Daddy, come back!?" she asked happily.  
  
"Yeah, I came back" he smiled for a sec.  
  
"Dan-ny, Tik?"  
  
"Yeah, Daniel and Teal't tooh"   
  
"We go home?"  
  
"Uh, not yet" Jack answered. He was a little uncomfortable, not sure how he should treat her. He suspected her true intelligence was still in tact, she just couldn't use it.   
  
"Danny play game?"  
  
"That's a good idea. Daddy, why don't you help me pick one out?" Sam nodded to the other side of the room. Jack quirked an eyebrow and followed her.  
  
"Janet says she's basically retarded. She' got the capabilities of a three year old"  
  
"Is there any good news?"   
  
"She's relearning her alphabet, and how to count" Sam told him, "In time, she may be able to read and write, maybe do some simple addition and subtraction. Did Daniel find anything?"  
  
"He found the plate she was talking about, but the Goa'uld decided to blow up the planet up before he could spend any time with it" The Colonel sneared at the unseen perpatrators.  
  
"Did you manage to bring anything back with you?" Sam asked anxiously.  
  
"Yeah. Daniel's probably in his office now" Jack told her flippantly. He seemed agravated, probably because all he could to to help his daughter was to wait for his friend to find a cure. Sam shared his feelings. They were both unused to this sort of helplessness, which niether Sam's brains nor Jack's brawn could conquer. Sam folded her arms and shook her head.  
  
"For now, Janet says the best thing we can do is to set a schedual up for her, have the same people help her do the same things everyday" she told him, "General Hammond is putting us on stand downuntil we get her situated. Jack suddenly looked around.  
  
"Here?" Sam nodded.  
  
" Probably. He's afraid she'll accidently let something slip."  
  
"For cryin' out loud!" Jack mumbled.  
  
"Game?" a curious voice said from the bed. The parents turned around. Cassi was watching them innocently.  
  
"How about Candyland?" Sam suggested and plucked the game from the shelf. Cassi laughed and clapped her hands. Sam tried to smile as she helped Jack set the game up.  
  
"Daddy be blue, Mom red" Cass laughed and handed them the green and yellow pieces. Jack realized she was joking and started telling her what a pretty blue it was.  
  
"Just like your eyes" 


	7. Quivers

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
Janet handed him a cup of coffee. His office was over cluterd with books and papers and artifacts, which she had seen before, but she noticed the plastic edge of something poking out from behind some papers. She pulled it out and was surprised to find it was a picture frame. The photo was from one of her daughter's birthday parties, with them all gathered around a lighted cake.  
  
"We'll have to update this" she said. Daniel looked up from his work tiredly. He took the frame and studied it for a moment, probably remembering the incident.   
  
"Yeah" he answered and put the picture back. He had cleared off enough room on his desk to spread out the artifacts they had brought back from the planet. She carefully lifted the copper ball and inspected it. It was completely smooth, except a mark imprinted on the "top" which looked like an elaborate eight. She couldn't find any clue in the object, and she felt a strange mixture of pride and pity for Daniel, the only man who could find echoes of the past in a smooth metal ball.   
  
"Any luck yet?" she asked, knowing that if he had found anything usefull, every one would have known about it. He yawned and shook his head.  
  
"The language is the same that we found ont he wall" he explained, "but it's all written in prose and eupherisms. It could take me months to learn enough about the culture to decipher it, and that's only if I had a culture to study." Janet set the ball down and ran a hand over Daniel's back.  
  
"I'm sure you'll figure it out" she assured him.  
  
"Yeah. Hey, how's Cass doing?" He'd been in his office for the past two days, trying to uncover the mysteries of the ancient alien poetry which seemed to be intentionally leading him in circles.  
  
"She took a few steps today" Janet answered optimisticlly, "I want to get her walking more, but I don't know how to intice her to try more. Yesterday she got so frustrated when she failed."  
  
"Maybe if you put something she likes in another room and told her she had to walk to it to get it" Daniel suggested, "What does she like?" A few days ago he could've answered that question extensivly himself. But, then again, a few days ago Cassi would never have even considered giving up on something so important. He felt that he didn't know her anymore. He felt bad, having hidden himself away in his office. He hadn't even been to see her since they got back from the planet. Truth to tell, though, he didn't want to see her helpless. It was completely unnerving. Cassi was one of the strongest people he knew, physically, mentally and personality wise. She might even be stronger than Jack. The thought of her being reduced to basic incapability had him quivering in his shoes. When she'd died, not too long ago, he'd been sad and angry, but this, this was eating him up.  
  
"She likes learning. She can't read but everyone's been taking turns reading to her. She also likes going outside a lot, but Teal'c's been pretty good about taking her" The Doctor studied her friend for a moment. He tried to avoid her gaze, but she knew exactly what he was feeling. The situation frightened her too.  
  
"She's been asking about you" she told him softly. Cassi had asked if Daniel was coming to play with her several times the day before.  
  
"Yeah, I've been meaning to go up and see her" Daniel replied off handedly.  
  
"You could read to her"  
  
"Read what?" Daniel cried, his emotions suddenly bubbling up, "The Three Little Pigs?! Goodnight Moon? What can she even understand?"  
  
"She understands more than you would think, which you would know if you'd been to see her!" Janet cried back at him angrily, "She's still Cassi you know! It's not that her knowledge is gone, it's that she can't handle the input she gets without her psychic powers! She *knows* she used to be smart, and it's ripping her up! It's not her fault you know!" Daniel slouched in his chair.  
  
"I know" he said softly, "It's just......hard" Janet reached for his hand.  
  
"Think how she feels. Everytime she can't do something she apologizes, or cries. She sits in her bed chanting 'I used to know'. Every time one of us gets discouraged she makes some silly little joke that doesn't make any sense, but it's the thought that counts. She feels like a burden"  
  
"Once a good person, always a good person I guess" Daniel smiled. He looked up at Janet.  
  
"I could wait just a few doors down from her room. Read her ancient legends to her?" he waved at his work, "This will all be here in a few hours" Janet leaned down and put a gentle kiss on his cheek.  
  
"She'll be glad to hear that" 


	8. What's To Be Done?

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
AN: Sorry this is so late! I had the whole thing finished and I didn't know I hadn't put it up! Again, sorry, but here's the rest!  
  
"This facility is not exactly equipped to handle the raising of a retarded child" Sam cringed at the General's brusque description of her daughter's condition.  
  
"However, we can not run the risk that she would inadvertantly reveal SGC secrets to any caretakers she may have. Therefore, Cassandra Carter O'Neill will remain in the Mountain" the General announced, "She can leave only with a member of SG-1 and only with my permission" Sam sighed, but she had been expecting this. The truth was, the team spent more time at the SGC when they were on duty than at home, and they couldn't remain on stand down forever. Besides which, she would have more attention here than anywhere else, and would be closer to help than she would be in a care home.   
  
" I've already authorized a very small outdoor play area fenced in on the surface and a special ed teacher has been requested for her" Hammond added.  
  
"Thank you, sir" Sam replied, knowing he didn't have to go to all the trouble to at least make her life livable. She would have everything she would need, and her parents would still be able to spend as much time as possible with her.  
  
"Sir, Cass wanted to know if Cassie could come see her" Jack told him, "They are rather close"  
  
"Of course. We'll make a special pass for her" the General responded, "Dr. Jackson, how are you coming with the tablets, have you found out what happened yet?" Everyone's attention switched to Daniel, but they already knew his answer.  
  
"Ah, no sir" he answered. No one reacted.  
  
"The eupherisms would make some sense in english, but we can't assume that they have the exact meaning for two vastly different cultures."  
  
"Danile" Jack groaned, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Okay, well for instance, one of the poems is "gathered memories/ placed in the hands of another/ wary is the holder" That could refer to a million things, it could be literal"  
  
"I see what you mean" Sam said, "They could be talking about taking the word of someone else simply on faith"  
  
"it may be a reference to the implantation of a Goa'uld symbiot" Teal'c offered.  
  
"It could be talking about reading someone's diary for all I know" Daniel finished.  
  
"So, you're telling me there's nothing to be done" Hammond asked. Daniel just shrugged, Janet shook her head.   
  
"All right. SG-1, you're on notice. You go back t work on monday" Hammond said officially. Nobody objected. They all felt defeated. So he got up and left.  
  
"I should go check on Cass" Janet said, standing up.  
  
"I'll go with you" Daniel told her and they left. Teal'c waited a moment before deciding to leave also.  
  
"Well. That's that I guess" Sam spoke into the silence.  
  
"Yeah" Jack agreed. Sam all of the sudden chuckled, startling Jack. He wondered for a second if she'd gone off her rocker, simply broke and gone mad.  
  
"Strange isn't it?" she said, "A few months ago, I never even thought about having kids, and now my heart is breaking because my daughter's been robbed of herself! I just met her! I don't remember her when she was little, I don't know all the pitfalls she's faced, or the joys, I can't say I really know her, but I know I couldn't go without her now!"  
  
"Surprising, isn't it? How easily it comes, loving them" Jack replied.  
  
"God, Jack, how did you do this?" Sam cried, remembering her fate in the alternate reality. She pushed back from the table and began pacing in front of the window.  
  
"How many times has she faced something like this? How many times has she come *this* close to dieing?" Sam squeezed her fingers together for emphasis, "How could we have letthis happen to her! She's just a kid!" Jack didn't say anything. He wondered that himself. He'd been wondering since Charlie died.  
  
"What were we going to do, Sam?" he finally said quietly, "Forbid her to go?" Sam was on the verge of saying yes when she realized what he was saying. Cassandra Carter O'Neill would never have taken no for an answer. Sam just shook her head and folded back into a chair.  
  
"It's not fair" she complained quietly.  
  
"No" Jack said, "It's life" 


	9. Visiting Time

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
Cassie Fraiser walked into the room and immediately missed the usual mental greeting her friend usually greeted her with. Cassi was sitting up in bed, coloring. The crayons slipped across the page, oblivious of the pre ordained lines. Janet came up behind her daughter.  
  
"You have to talk to her as if she were a child" she warned her, "And she still can't speak to well" Cassie nodded and advanced.  
  
"Hi" she said slowly. Her friend raised her head and squinted at her.   
  
"Who?" she asked. She even sounded retarded.  
  
"Fray, remember?" Cassie replied, pulling a chair up to the bed and sitting.   
  
"Fray, shopping" Cass replied.  
  
"That' right" Fray smiled, "I came to visit"  
  
"Visit, good" Cass said, putting her crayon back in the box. It took her a couple of tries.  
  
"You hear happen me?"  
  
"Yes, I heard what happened to you" Fray answered.  
  
"Crazy now" Cass laughed, "No change big!" Fray laughed with her friend, torn up inside at what had become of her.  
  
"My mom's trying to help you" she said.  
  
"Mom?" Cassi looked around the room, "Lunch?" She sounded confused.  
  
"No, *my* mom" Cass still didn't understand.  
  
"Fraise? Doctor Fraiser?" she tried.  
  
"Doctor. Doctor help. Doctor good." Cassi chanted.  
  
"That's right" Fray replied. She just looked at her friend for a moment, saying nothing.  
  
"I brought a game" She suddenly remembered she'd brought "Memory". Her mother had suggested it. She hoped it would help Cassi excercise her memory, maybe remember more of her speech skills. Fray sat the game up on Cassi's table and told her what to do. But Cassi got agravated quickly because she couldn't remember which picture she'd seen where. Janet had prepared for this too and had sent alphabet blocks with her daughter. Cassie pulled them out.  
  
"Cassi, Cassi, look! This is 'A' " she said, showing her friend the block.  
  
" A!" Cassi repeated, "A! A! A! A! B!"   
  
"That's right!" Fray replied and pulled out the "C".  
  
"What's this one?" Cassi cocked her head.  
  
"D? K?" she tried again. She tried other letters for a while until Jack came in.  
  
"Walk time!" she announced, clapping her hands together, "Dad! Dad! Walk time!"  
  
"That's right" Jack said with a sad smile. Fray watched as he helped his daughter out of bed, which wasn't easy, and had to support her as she started to walk, very, very slowly.  
  
"Come on, Cass" he encouraged, "Daniel's waiting in the room to read you a story"   
  
"Dan-ny, Dan-ny! Story!" Cassi said gleefully, "Fray come?"  
  
"Yep, coem on Cassie, we're going to go hear a story" Jack said and Cassie followed behind them. She watched painfully as her friend made her way down the all, one step at a time. It took nearly ten minutes to get three doors down to where Daniel was waiting, a picture book in his hands.  
  
"Yay, you made it!" He tried to say it enthusiasticaly, but Cassie could tell he was disgusted by the situation. Cassi hadn't caught on though because she clapped and laughed.  
  
"Dad, help Cass!" she replied, "Fray come too!"  
  
"Alright, sit down!" Daniel motioned to the blanket at his feet and Jack helped his daughter down. Cassie sat down too and let a single tear drop as Daniel began to read. 


	10. A Sign

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
"Good morning, Cassi O'Neill"  
  
"Tik! Play time?"  
  
"Yes, it is time to go outside and play" Teal'c responded. He had never heard of a retarded human until Dr. Fraiser explained what had happened to Cassi. He knew that she would have been killed back on Chulak. It pained him to see her as such, unable to do the simplest things, but he could not imagine "ending her pain".  
  
"Tik, shoes!" The sixteen year old pointed to her feet which were bare. Teal'c bent and helped her to put her shoes on and then tied them. He then held his hand out to her and they began the long trek to the elevator. The General had had a small area fenced in just inside the perimeter fence for her to play in. It was Teal'c's daily job to take her outside and to watch her while she played in the dirt. SG-1 was still on stand down, though they had been told they would be put back on duty next week. Teal'c wondered briefly what would happen to the child when they began going out on missions again, but he trusted that Jack would make sure that she was completely cared for during their absences. Dr. Fraiser had said there was still a possibility that her higher functions would return, but she was doubtful.  
  
They had been outside for only about ten minutes when a man came running out to them.   
  
"Sir! The Colonel wants you back in the Mountain right away! He says they've found something!"   
  
"Cassi, it is time to back inside" Teal'c said immediately.  
  
"Not uh!" the child responded, not looking up from her pile of dirt.  
  
"It is" Teal'c said again.  
  
"No! No time!" Cassi yelled back, pointing to the ground behind her, "Dark not long!" Teal'c noticed a shadow of a pole behind her. SHe must have been using it to tell how long she was allowed to stay outside. Perhaps then she had not lost all of her intelligence, just the capability to acess it. Teal'c considered how best to explain in a way that she would understand that they had to go back inside.  
  
"They think they have found a way to make you the way you were before" he said. Cassi pushed herself off the ground shakily.  
  
"Make me smart?" she asked eagerly.  
  
"Perhaps" Teal'c answered hesitantly, not wanting to get her hopes up.  
  
"Go back! Go back!" the girl cried and started walking toward the gate.  
  
"Slow! Tik, carry Cassi!" Teal'c lifted her up and she put her arms around his neck.  
  
"Teal'c good you're back!" Jack said when they arrived in the infirmary. Teal'c deposited Cassi in a stuffed chair and joined the Colonel and everyone else behind Dr. Fraiser who was studying something beneath her microscope.  
  
"Daniel found it in one of the artifacts you brought back" Sam told him, "He thinks it may be an antedote to whatever that plate did"  
  
"I think he's right" Janet announced, "It seems to be two hormones. One is an activator, the other is very similiar to the hormone she usually produces on her own"  
  
"Do you think it will help?" Sam asked.  
  
"There's only one way to tell" Janet answered and handed the alien bottle to Sam. Carter knelt in front of her daughter.  
  
"Here, honey," she said, "You drink this, now" Cassi looked from her Mother to her Father to the bottle.  
  
"Me smart?"  
  
"Yeah," Jack choked, "It'll make you smart again" They all held their breath as Cassi poured the amber liquid down her throat. Nothing happened.  
  
"How long will it take for the liquid to take affect?" Teal'c asked.  
  
"The writing I found said 'Day to night, all is right' It's probably how long it takes to work" Daniel replied. They all looked at Cassi, who had fallen asleep, and hoped. 


	11. The Waiting

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
  
"Where exactly did you find that stuff, Daniel?" Jack asked.  
  
"Um, in one of the stone oblieskes, actually. I accidently pushed in on one of the sets of waves. I think they may be symbolic of psychic powers" Daniel answered, "Or something." They were in Cassi's room, playing cards. She'd been asleep for about six hours, only half the time that Daniel estimated she would sleep. When they realized their voices weren't going to wake her, they'd moved themselves inside the room to wait. Sam was asleep, laying next to Cassi on the bed, and Jack and Daniel were teaching Teal'c how to play poker.  
  
"Trips. You win...again!" Daniel exclaimed as Teal'c revealed his cards.  
  
"So, you figured out what all the gibberish means then?" Jack asked, gathering the cards to shuffle them for the next round.   
  
"Not all of it. I still don't know what happened to Cass" Danile answered, counting his make shift money they'd stolen from the monopoly game, "But I think I figured some of it out. For instance, those waves, I think represent psychic powers, or the mind or something like that" Jack started dealing the cards as he listened, "On the plate, and two of the oblieskes, the waves were contained between two lines, trapped sort of. On the oblieskes I found the liquid in, one set of waves was trapped, then there was a word that seems to mean 'to' or 'becomes', and then a pair of free waves. Three" he set three of his cards down and recieved new ones.  
  
"But, you do not know for sure that these waves represent mental powers?" Teal'c asked.  
  
"Uh, no. It's kind of like trying to learn english when you don't know what a pronoun is. You're missing a vital part of the language"  
  
"What about the other stuff we brought back?" Jack asked.  
  
"The tablets seem to be an explination for what the plate device is, but it's buried in so much poetry, I can't figure it out." Daniel admitted, "The ball I think is a saftey device. The plate had a round, sunken in center. I think when the ball is placed in it, it neutralizes the plate"  
  
"Did Cass take it off?" Jack asked, flopping his cards down as Teal'c won yet another game.  
  
"I think we shouldn't have taught you to paly, Teal'c." Daniel told his friend, "But, no, I don't think she did"  
  
"So, it's some dead guy's fault?" Jack said.   
  
"Uh, yeah." Daniel replied. A few more hours passed. The men lost their interest in the games. Sam woke up. Daniel pulled a book out. Teal'c started meditating in a corner. Jack moved over to sit with Sam and Cassi. Sam was stroking Cass's hair, still laying next to her. Jack suddenly realized how much like her mother Cassi looked, and wondered if she looked as much like him when they stood together. He hoped not, for her sake. The girl stirred slightly in her sleep, but Sam went right on lightly pushing her fingers through her hair. Then she started shaking her head.  
  
"What?" Jack inquired.  
  
"What happens next time?" she said softly, "How many more times can we go through this, Jack? She might not make it the next time. Her mind could be destroyed, her body could be broken and unrepairable, and we could lose her before we ever realy have her" A dire future flashed before Jack's eyes - another funeral, but with no interruptions; a pale face resembling Cassi's; a coffin lowering into a cold hard ground; an emptiness that could never be filled, making the already existing hole in his heart expand until that organ could no longer function. he knew that future was what awaitd his daughter, a glorious heroic death and a cold grave for the rest of eternity.  
  
"She can't go on any more missions" Sam said quietly.  
  
"You're right" Jack answered. As the two gazed at their daughter, they knew she would be visiting many more worlds with them. 


	12. Inside the TV show

2-D  
The following story is under the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Unauthorized copying and/or use is actionable in a court of law.   
  
To borrow a phrase: SG-1 and Star Gate no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?  
Her eyes opened slowly, cautious of how the light would affect them. Her mother was laying on the bed next to her, and she could feel the worry in her mind, not just about her daughter's saftey, but about her future too. The girl gently reached out and lifted the concerns away. Her mother's dreams switched from painful renditions of possible futures to a happy, sunny day on a beach. Her father was asleep in a chair next to the bed, Daniel behind a book in the corner. Teal'c was meditating, but he too was close to sleep. Cassi wondered for a moment if she should wake them all, but decided they needed their sleep. So she closed her eyes and relished in the simple feel of their minds, emotions, presence. When she felt the grogginess begin to lift from her father's mind she sent a quiet warning to him.  
  
Ssshh! They're all asleep. she told him. He was instantly awake, a talent she could rarely implement herself.  
  
"How long have you been awake?" Jack asked quietly, knowing he needn't have spoken at all.   
  
A while she answered in his head.  
  
"What happened?"  
Oh, several hundred thousand lifetimes and a few civilizations! Cassi answered with a mental laugh, knowing her father didn't understand.   
  
The plate device held the memories of the civilization that lived on that planet. They stored up the knowledge they had about a few other cultures that had o nce existed there.  
  
"What about that war?" Jack hadn't moved from his chair. There were no tears of hugs between them, just a smile and a knowing nod. Cassi could feel the relief in his chest.  
  
Just a legend she replied to his question but every legend has a truth behind it. The technology, though, that was meant for a more developed mind. Mine couldn't handle all the information, so it just shut down the "bad" part.  
  
"What was that like?" Cass sighed.  
  
Everybody and everything was a surface, with no depth. It was like walking around in a tv show. Everything was......2-D  
AN: Hope you enjoyed! Again, sorry about the mishap! Thanx for reading and responding! 


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